Brilliant Speed, runner-up to Western Aristocrat in the Grade 1 Jamaica here Oct. 8, is being pointed to the Breeders’ Cup Turf, trainer Tom Albertrani said Friday.

Brilliant Speed, a 3-year-old son of Dynaformer, won the Grade 3 Saranac on turf and the Grade 1 Blue Grass Stakes over Keeneland’s Polytrack earlier this year.

In the Jamaica, he chased the front-running Western Aristocrat all the way around the track, finishing a length behind that European invader while finishing three-quarters of a length in front of Wilkinson.

Friday at Hollywood Park, Mr. Commons and Harmonious had their next-to-last works for their respective Breeders’ Cup races. Both are trained by John Shirreffs, who guided Zenyatta through her sensational career.

Although both are pointing for grass races, they worked on the synthetic Cushion Track surface at Hollywood, where Shirreffs is based. Mr. Commons worked five furlongs in 59.60 seconds, the third-best time of 35 at the distance, while Harmonious went seven furlongs in 1:25.20, the best time of four at the distance.

ARCADIA, Calif. – One of the Breeders’ Cup races in which California-based runners should have a significant impact is the Filly and Mare Sprint, where Turbulent Descent and Switch figure to be the top two choices.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Ariana D, who has been mentioned as a candidate for the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint at Churchill Downs, instead is scheduled to appear here in next Sunday’s Ontario Fashion.

“Unfortunately, we’re going to have to pass on the Breeders’ Cup,” said Laurie Silvera, who trains the homebred 5-year-old for owner Bill Thompson.

Ariana D would have been making her first start on dirt in the seven-furlong Filly and Mare Sprint.

Smiling Tiger, third in the 2010 Breeders’ Cup Sprint and winner of seven sprint stakes, may not start in the BC Sprint at Churchill Downs on Nov. 5, trainer Jeff Bonde said Thursday.

Smiling Tiger has not had a workout since late September and has not raced since finishing fourth in the Grade 1 Pat O’Brien Stakes at Del Mar on Aug. 28.

“We’ve had a few issues and we’re trying to determine whether we can make it,” Bonde said. “I don’t have any answers yet. He acts jarred up.”

There will be plenty of California shippers coming to Louisville, Ky., for the Breeders' Cup. DRF.com's Brad Free estimates about 30 will make the trip, and he picks out the top five to keep an eye on, including Game On Dude and Amazombie.

The in-game interview is a fairly recent development in sports TV. In theory, it transports fans inside an event when a broadcaster interviews a coach or manager while the game unfolds. In reality, the responses from the participants are frequently bland, pushing fans away from the heart of the matter.

While the 1 1/2-mile Belmont Stakes is known as the Test of the Champion, in recent years many of its winners have had a strikingly inglorious record coming out of that race. Since 2000, Commendable, Empire Maker, Sarava, Afleet Alex, Jazil, Rags to Riches, and Da’ Tara never won another race. Drosselmeyer, last year’s winner, got back to the winner’s circle this year against lesser company, and Ruler On Ice is winless in three tries since his upset victory four months ago.

The news this week concerning the Breeders’ Cup Mile was not so much who is in, but who is out.

Overseas, Sarafina was the ante-post betting favorite in the weeks preceding the Oct. 2 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, but on an crazily hot day in Paris, Sarafina burned up her backers cash, finishing seventh of 16 in the Arc. There were no apparent excuses during the race, but the unseasonably warm weather and unusually fast course conditions might have worked against Sarafina, and she will try to make amends next month at Churchill Downs in the Breeders’ Cup Turf.